Wednesday, June 22, 2011

life on the road

My sister (right) and myself, side stage in Indianapolis, 2007.

The title of this post may be slightly misleading. This isn't a piece about my life on the road. I'm just a designer and blogger who makes clothes and art and talks about pretty things for a living. :) But for those who don't know, I'm also about to marry someone who works and lives - for half the year - on the road. And it's a very unique way to live. It's a life that inspires my work, takes me to amazing places, and makes my partner very happy. It's also a life that is nontraditional, often challenging, and sometimes quite lonely (for both of us).

Robbie "living the dream" (his favorite road warrior expression)

My fiance, Robbie, has a career as the Stage Manager for a band. He helps make rock shows happen. He meets incredible people and has unforgettable experiences all over the world. He also lives on a tour bus (and sometimes airplane) with 12 other guys for nearly 6 total months of the year. He often works 16-20 hours day, and sleeps in a 3-foot wide bunk. He wakes up in a new place everyday, but rarely sees beyond the back of a truck and side of the stage. A few times a year I'm able to travel to meet him on the road for a day or two, but most often, he spends a lot of time away from home and his family. We'll just say that it's far from the idealistic group sing-alongs echoing through the bus of Almost Famous.

Watching Red Rocks amphitheater fill up. (When I do go to
Robbie's shows, there's a lot of time to kill while he works!)

I've done a couple of posts about the magical side to this life we live (like our incredible trip to Australia for a festival that the band played there last year!), which prompted some sweet emails and comments asking questions about what it's like beyond the glimpse I've given. So I decided to ask my wonderful fiance if he'd be interested in sharing a little of his experience with my wonderful readers, and he happily agreed. In a few hours, he leaves for summer tour, and he'll be documenting some of his daily life on the road for all of you. (He's quite the photographer, so there should be some pretty pictures involved too). As creative people yourselves, I think you'll find this behind-the-scenes look into the music industry very intriguing - and probably much different than you might expect!

Hard at work on New Year's Eve

Saying goodbye when it's time for him to hit the road is one of the hardest things I've ever had to do. He's my best friend, and it's never easy to know I'm about to be far away from him for weeks at a time. I'm really excited about this new series though, and for him to be part of the blog even when he's all the way across the country.

Thanks you guys! Yes, I will openly admit that it is a very hard and often lonely lifestyle, and I'd be lying if I said I'd do just about anything for him to be able to be home more often. My job is nontraditional too, and before Bubby dog got sick I was traveling a lot for work as well so we saw each other even less. I can't even imagine how challenging it will be when we start having babies! He is so good at what he does though, and because it's such a creative profession, I think his posts will be a really wonderful addition to the blog. More soon!

You guys remind me of Brad and Angelina :-). Truly tho, you both have such interesting and creative jobs and I think it's easy for those of us with more boring lives to assume it's super exciting or glamouous! I'm sure it's much harder than we think and I'm super excited to learn more about the behind the scenes of your man's career.

This lifestyle, although looking truly exciting from the outside must have its downsides too but hey, the most amazing thing is that you find inspiration and that gives you strength :) I can't wait to see backstage photos. How is your fiancée's hearing, by the way? I can't imagine what it is to be around such loud music for a long time!

I'm excited for this new feature! I love behind-the-scenes stuff for music events. I was in choir for years, touring during college, and I've also helped out friend's bands set up for gigs. It's such a magical time, before everyone gets there, everyone running around with a job to do, wires snaking everywhere and instruments tuning and sounding like a cacophony.

I'm sure it is hard though, living without him for 6 months! It's too bad you can't go with him. :(